Caster for tapered-leg furniture



D. B. DISS. CASTER FOR TAPERED LEG FURNITURE.

u APPLICATION FILED luNE a. 192|. 1,433,988. Patented Oct. 31, 1922.

lPatented @et 3l, 19221.

UNi'liEl? STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL B. DISS, 0F NEWARK, JERSEY, .ASSIGNOR'TO 'THE BASSICK COMPANY, OF i BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION 0F CONNECTICUT.

CASTER FOR TAPIVIIREDLEC-i- FURNITURE.

Application iled .Tune `8, 19531. Serial No. 475,871.

'To all whom t may concern Be it known that l, DANIEL B. Diss, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Casters for lapered-lieg Furniture, of which'the fo-llowing is a specification.

The invention relates to casters for tapered leg furniture, the casters being particularly adapted tobe frictionally retained within hollow furniture legs, the interior surfaces of which taper upwardly and out- \\'ardly. The invention provides a caster having a spring frame which tapers upwardly and outwardly in `such manner as to have a firm frictional engagementwithin the tapered leg.

The object of the invention is the provision of improved simple and effective devices of the character referred to.

ln order that the invention may be more clearly understood attention is hereby directed to the accompanying drawings, form ing part of this application and illustrating one embodiment of the invention. In the drawings- Fig. 1 represents a vertical section taken through a caster embodying the invention mounted within a tapered furniture leg, and

Figs. 2 and 3 are transverse sections taken respectively on line 2 2 and 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the caster may comprise the usual caster wheel 1, rotatively mounted on an aXle 2, which extends between the arms 3, 3, of a horn having a top portion 4 connecting the arms 3.v

A pintle 5 is secured to the top portion 4 of the horn to extend upwardly therefrom. The pintle may be secured in position in the usual manner by extending it through an opening in the center of the top portion 4 of the horn and providing it with a head 6 beneath portion 4 of the horn and forming a shoulder 7 thereon above the portion 4.

The leg supporting plate or leg` mount 8 has a central opening therethrough through which the pintle extends, plate 8 resting on the shoulder 7 of the pintle. The plate is provided with marginal bearing means which are adapted to slidably coact with the lower end of the tapered hollow leg. These bearing means preferably take the form of upv spring metal turned flangesA v9`which are adapted to closely fit around the lower end of the hollow leg l. Zhen the hollow leg is of square or other rectangular cross section the leg supporting plate will, of course, be similarly shaped.

\ The spring bent to form transverse bottom portion I11, upwardly eX tending arms 12, 12 and inwardly turned top flanges 13, 13.' Bottom transverse portion 11 has a central opening formed therethrough through which pintle 5 extends.

\ The top flanges 13 are provided with slots 14, 14, which are extended in the direction of the length lof fianges 13. The spring frame is mounted in position on the pintle by eX- to provide a tending the latter through the opening in the bottom portion 11 of the frame and through the slots 14 in flanges 13, after which, a washer 15 may be positioned on the pintle above the uppermost flange 13, and the upper end of the pintle then provided with some means for holding the washer and spring frame thereon, as by pressing the metal of the pint-le outwardly to form projections 16 thereon. l

The slots 14 serve to prevent undue compression of the spring frame and undue outward bending of the same, and also serve to hold the frame in approximately the desired upwardly and outwardly tapering form. The length of the bottom portion 11 of the spring `frame is suitably chosen so that there will be suflicient room between flanges 9 and bottom portions of arms 12 of the spring frame for the frictional engagement of the lower ends of the walls of the hollow leg.

The caster is mounted in position by simply pushing the spring frame up into the tapered' interior of the leg, the lower end of the latter fitting within the flanges 9 of the leg mount and resting upon the horizontal surface of the leg mount. lVhen the spring `frame is thus inserted the arms 12 will yieldinwardly a suflicient amount and will frictionally engage the inner surfaces of the hollowed leg throughout substantially their entire lengths, this being permitted by the upwardly and outwardly tapered form of arms 12. It will be noted that the transverse portion 1l at the bottom of the spring frame provides a rigid strut member at the bottom of the leg whereby fra-me comprises a strip of the caster will be maintained in central position and displacement of the same, at any time when the furniture is moved, prevented.

YWhat I claim is:

l. In a easter, the combination of a horn, a pintle extendingupwardly therefrom, a leg supportingplate having a central opening therein through which said pintle ex.- tends and having upturned'narginal"bearing means adapted to slidably evoactA with-the lower end of a hollow tapered leg, and a spring frame having a transversel bottom portion adapted to rest on said plate within said marginal bearing means 'and to act asia strut and having an opening therethrough through which said pintle extends', and having arms extending upwardly andk outwardly at an angle, adapted to rietionally engage the interior 'of the leg, said arms having inwardly vturned top flanges having slots therethrough tlirouglrwliieh said pintle extends, designed to maintain the de* sired tapered form of said arms, so that they will friotionally engage the inner surface of the tapered leg substantially throughout their entire lengths, and to prevent undue `Compression thereof. o

2. In a easter, the combination of a horn,

a pintle extending upwardly therefrom, a leg supporting plate having a central opening therein through which said pintle extends and having upturned marginal anges adapted to slidably engage about the lower end of a hollow tapered leg, and a spring frame having a transverse bottom portion adapted to seat on said plate and to aot as a strutl and having an opening therethrough through which said pintle extends, and having arms extending upwardly and outwardly at an angle, adapted to frictionally engage the interior of the leg, the lower ends of said arms being spaced inwardly from the adjacent marginal flanges sufficiently to permit the passage of the walls of the leg between the said arms and flanges,

vsaid arms having inwardly turned top ianges having slots therethrough through which said pintle extends, said arms being adapted to engage the interior of the tapered leg throughout their entire length and such slots being designed to permit such engagement.

June A. D. 1921.`

DANIEL B. DISS. 

